-This is your Broadway debut. Congratulations.
It's really exciting. -Thanks.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-And we had your co-star Adam Driver here,
and he was explaining, your --
Basically, your friend passes away,
and it's about your relationship with your friend's brother,
who's played by Adam Driver.
-Adam Driver. Right.
-It's a very intense show. -It's very intense.
-And, again, your Broadway debut.
Do you have more respect for stage actors,
having done this for a little?
-Oh, my God. Who would do this? Literally.
Like, who -- I mean, I'm sure musical theater
is much more fun, but, like, to go and cry
and get yelled at every night.
-Yeah. -"Here we go again. Let's go."
And like every day.
Tuesday night, you're like, "Okay.
Here we go."
-And it's so nice of you -- By the way,
this is your one night to not get yelled at,
and you came and spent it with us.
I really appreciate it.
-Well, I like you. -It's your Monday off.
[ Cheers and applause ]
As you do it more, are you getting more used to it
or is it still, every night, just it's crazy to you
that people do this for a living?
-It's still crazy to me. -Yeah.
-Still crazy to me.
I mean, I'm a nervous person anyway.
It's not where I live, you know,
like, being out in front of people like,
"Watch me cry in person."
But it's -- You know, I have immense respect for people
who do it, and a beer definitely helps.
-A beer helps? That's good. That's good to hear.
And then I'm always fascinated by how people on Broadway stages
talk about how an audience can be completely different
from one night to the next.
-It's crazy.
I mean, they really -- I mean, I sound like an idiot
because I guess everyone knows that.
But it really affects your performance.
I mean, sometimes, you'll have a really loud, drunk crowd
that, you know, when Adam walks on they're, like,
cat-calling him and stuff.
We're like, "Should we wait a few minutes?
Did we get it all out?"
Or, you know, one time --
Or, sometimes, they're very thoughtful
and they're listening, like, a matinee crowd.
And then my favorite is -- there's a really great moment
where there's a Bruce Springsteen song in it.
And Adam and I are still basically
doing the scene on stage.
And the song comes on, which I really love.
And someone yelled out --
This woman was like, "Oh, I hate this song!"
-It's amazing.
-We're like, "Should we turn it off?"
-The level of entitlement that people have at a Broadway show
to let you know exactly what they're feeling.
-Like, it's unbelievable.
But I guess that's, you know -- -That's just how it goes.
-That's how it goes, but that's kind of the fun of it.
-Adam was also saying that because he's Kylo Ren, as well,
that there was -- One of the nice things he was talking
about the audience is there are people who maybe
come to see him in a show that wouldn't normally
go to a Broadway show.
-And I think our show has that,
maybe differently than some of the other shows.
I think a lot of the people we meet afterwards
have never been to a Broadway show.
-That's a really cool experience to give people.
-It is cool.
Yeah, and, I mean, I didn't grow up
getting to go to a lot of shows, so I think it is cool.
And, you know, it brings -- It's not exactly a light show.
-Right. -Although, it is very funny.
I have to say, Adam is very funny in it, too.
He's kind of this big force, but it's very funny.
He plays it very funny, so -- -Nice tie-in to "force."
-Yeah. -Really nice.
Well, I understand that you have to do this now,
because you're in the new "Star Wars" movies,
so you get a little scratch.
You get a little scratch when you say "force."
It's really amazing.
I will -- I almost don't want to waste the time
of trying to ask you about it, like, 'cause every time
there's somebody whose in one of these big movies,
be it an "Avengers" movie, a "Star Wars" movie,
I'm like, "You can't tell me anything, right?"
-But it is -- I just -- I wish I could swear,
but you can't.
But it is so... -Go for it.
-...F'ing cool. -Yeah, okay.
-Like, it is, like, so -- And when I was there,
I was thinking the whole -- I mean, it's just the cost--
Specifically my costume.
I mean, it's just awesome. It's so cool.
-And I know we can talk about this.
We can talk about your history with "Star Wars."
Is it true that, growing up, you were afraid of Yoda?
Is this a true thing?
-When I was in kindergarten, my best friend's dad
dressed up as Yoda, but in a very realistic mask.
Like, not just like, "Oh, I'm Yoda."
-Yeah.
-Like, I mean, in one of those real --
-To the point where you thought he might be Yoda?
-He might be Yoda.
And, by the way, he's a nice guy,
so I don't -- But I cried.
-You cried when somebody walked in like Yoda.
That's a lot.
-Have you seen -- I mean, in kindergarten,
you probably hadn't seen "Star Wars" yet.
-I know. I wonder. Maybe not.
-Your introduction to Yoda might have been a weird guy.
-A scary man. -Yeah.
That's a hard way to meet Yoda. -It was. It was.
-Yeah. -Now I know he's good.
-But, over time, you're fine. -Now I know he's good.
Now I like him. -Right. That's good.
And, again, you can't give -- You can't divulge these secrets?
-I can't.
-But, yet, you -- And we've talked about it before the show.
You played one of the great secret-keepers of all time
in "The Americans."
-It's true.
-Do you think that's been helpful for you now --
-Yes. Yes. -That training.
-Yes. Definitely. -That Russian spy training?
-Yeah.
-I have been fortunate enough to see you since that show ended.
-We saw each other. -We did.
And I complimented you and Matthew both on the fact that
a show that I think there is this real expectation
of this as one of those shows
that's going to nail the landing.
And I think you guys did nail the landing.
That must have been such a relief.
-Such a -- 'Cause no one ever does.
Like, you're never lucky enough. It's just the stars don't align.
But these writers -- they kind of had the idea
from the beginning, and I love that ending.
I mean, you never get out while it's still good.
-Yeah. -And they did, and I loved it.
-How do you -- What was your first interaction
with that last script?
Like, was it the table read
or do you get to read it on your own?
-They send them to you usually a little bit before.
And I was actually behind in reading my scripts.
I was a couple episodes behind.
So, I had this rare three-hour break
and I went to this restaurant nearby where we were shooting
and I sat with like three of the last episodes
and just burned through them with a giant glass of wine.
And I just cried in this restaurant.
I was doing one of those things where you, like,
cover your face.
And I just -- It was so painful and so good.
It was, like, the perfect kind of payment
that they had to give.
-And, of course, one of the legacies of that show
will be -- That's where you and Matthew met, right?
-That's true. -You have a child now.
-We do. Almost the same age as yours.
-Almost the same age as ours.
And is there anything -- If you walk in to where you guys live,
is it a monument to "The Americans?"
Is it just, like, all the wigs in glass cases?
Is there any -- -Yes. No.
-Okay, good. -No.
The only thing that we took, collectively,
between Matthew and I -- He took --
There was a kind of gross, horrifying scene
involving an ax in a garage and a person's body.
-Yep. Yeah.
-And, obviously, we didn't use a real ax on a person's body.
-Right.
-So there was a fake ax, and that is what Matthew wanted.
-That is -- I love Matthew, but I --
If he told me that's what he was bringing home, I'd move out.
Yeah. -A little disturbing.
And our 2-year-old, who's a little wild,
comes in just, like, wielding it.
And you're like, "No, no, no, no, no!"
-And he's like, "You're the guys that brought the ax home."
-And I'm like, "It's true."